1yr old and ordering off the menu.....

karadenisereid

We are taking a little vacation to the beach, I looking for suggetions regarding dining out.  Usually when DH go out, LO has already had her dinner or lunch.  We are staying in a suite that has a full kitchen, should I just continue to feed her before going or try something off the menu for her.  I never really paid much attention to restaraunts Kid Menus before...also shes only 1.  I suppose i could also just bring her food with us.....

any ideas???

bluegfluff

At that age, I'd bring food along for her, or give her a few tidbits from your plate. There's no way she'd eat even half a kids meal (I would guess), so it would be a waste of money.  

dor79

Depending on where we go an eat, I do a mixture of things.

 1.) I either bring along his food and order a small side for him an/or give him food from our plates

2.) I order of the kids meal and order a salad for me, knowing I will eat half his   meal.

BabyBoyNYC

it depends on where you go. when we go out we usually just order a side item like a scrambled egg or a side of black beans or whatever and then add on stuff from our plates. or just pack a sandwich?

twohniyt

We normally bring stuff with us and let her eat off our plates since she can't ever finish or come close to finishing a kids meal.  If we go out to eat with my sister who has a LO 6 weeks younger than mine they normally split a kids meal.

SusieBW

CTGirl30:

I have a 16 month old and most of the time she just eats our food - we don't really order her her own meals...I bring along a pouch for her or some dried fruit and then she'll eat whatever DH and I eat.

All of this, except my DD is just turning 1.  Sometimes if we're out for breakfast, I'll order her her own oatmeal or a fruit cup, but I always wind up sharing it with her.

RayRay007

If you don't want to feed her before, you could share off your plate. We don't usually order DD her own meal.

momofmanyinthemitten

At restaurants we order soups, pasta, rice, beans, breakfast foods of all kinds, fruit, cottage cheese, applesauce, and steamed veggies for LO. She ends up eating bites of what we order as well.

dairygirl19

I do it both ways depending on my mood or my LOs.

Lately though, I've just been ordering her something on the healthy side dish list (steamed veggies, fruit salad, etc.) and then she can have some of what we have ( a couple french fries, noodles, whatever) I've also just asked for a grilled cheese and a healthy side before too with no problems.

That way I'm not stuck paying for an entire kid's meal she won't eat, she gets something else and can still taste test. Apparently, I'm too lazt to pack much extra these days anyways.

JenniCollins

Chloe has been getting her own meal for a while now.  Either something off the kids menu or if nothing on it appeals to her she'll get a side, her favorite is broccoli.  We also always let her have stuff off or our plates as well.

The other day we went to Bob Evans for dinner and got her a breakfast plate.  It came with scrambled eggs, two small pancakes, piece of sausage, and hash browns (we substituted smiley fries for those because her dad and I wanted some!).  She ate over half the plate, well worth her getting her own meal for only $3. 

chardonnay24

We order off the kid's menu about 75% of the time. A is a great eater and can easily eat the entire meal. We generally get him grilled chicken or grilled cheese with a fruit and/or a veggie.

Just depends on your kid and how much she'll eat. You could bring food for her, or feed her some bites of things off your plate.

PunkyBooster

We went to Disney this summer and I took those Ella's pouches of food. I also ordered a side of veggies with most of my meals and he just ate those.

If I knew he was REALLY hungry (since he was 18 months at the time) I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich for him, he can eat his weight in grilled cheese. 

HoolahZinger

Usually I just bring stuff for her and/or offer from my plate. She doesn't eat much of the meal anyhow so it just is a waste with our DD. You could order an extra side for your meal too if you want just a little more food to offer.

JennaNAaron

LO is a champion eater.  We always get him something off the kids menu.  He generally eats all or 75% of it. 

AimeeL85

I think either would be fine.  Right around that time is probably when I stopped always bringing his food to the restaurant with us, but I didn't usually order him his own entree, even off the kids menu.  I always considered what he could/would eat of what DH and I were ordering, and if I thought he needed something else I would get some type of side. 

Now he is 20 months and I always order off the kids menu for him (I usually don't like the choices but I try to make sure something he eats there is healthy and remind myself that he eats better at home!).

MrsNole

Is there a reason your LO eats before you go out normally?  If you don't mind her eating something off the kid's menu then go for it.

I give my 1 year old DD food off the kid's menu all the time.  Though mostly only when I am getting something that I think will be hard for her to eat, like shrimp (haven't let her have any yet), tacos, or something else.  Today just shared my food with her because I knew they gave us a lot of food on one plate.

kenyakeetah

Usually the kids menus are junky food so we often just share bits I ff our plate or order a side of veg etc for him

luvmyducks

I usually order her something I know she will eat.  So like a grilled cheese and steamed broccoli.  There usually is leftovers, but I just take it home and give it to her for lunch the next day.

TiffanyBerry

We did BLW'ing, and have always just shared what we ordered, making sure there was something reasonably suited to her.

MammaBear81

DS3 could absolutely down 3 chicken fingers!  He still usually doesn't get his own meal though (we will take a chicken finger off each of the girls plate, since they generally only eat 2) and we give him water or milk.  He also will eat some of what DH and/or I am eating.  But when we just had the boys, they were getting their own meals at about 15 months+